Korea loses 3-4 to Kazakhstan in semifinal

Lee Hyeon-ji reacts after losing to China's Niu Xinlan at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday. [Yonhap]
Lee Hyeon-ji reacts after losing to China's Niu Xinlan at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday. [Yonhap]

South Korea's judo team fell one win short of the mixed team final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday.

The team lost 3-4 to Kazakhstan in the mixed team semifinal at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, with the match going to a golden score extension. The defeat ended South Korea's bid for a gold medal.

Korea had cruised through the quarterfinals earlier that day, beating China 4-1, before running into a far tighter contest against Kazakhstan.

The match opened promisingly when Heo Mi-mi (North Gyeongsang Province Sports Council), a gold medalist in the women's under-57 kilogram category, pinned Dana Abdirova for an ippon to give Korea an early lead.

But Lee Eun-gyeol (Buan-gun Office) squandered a two-penalty advantage over Gusman Kyrgyzbaev in the men's under-73 kg bout, conceding a waza-ari with 41 seconds left to lose the match and level the score at 1-1.

Kim Hye-mi (Gwangju Transit Corporation) restored Korea's lead in the women's under-70 kg bout, edging Azar Askhat in golden score with an inner leg reap for a waza-ari to make it 2-1.

The advantage was quickly erased when Kim Jong-hun lost the men's under-90 kg bout to Aidar Arapov via a heel trip waza-ari, leveling the score at 2-2.

Korea regained the upper hand in the fifth bout. Kim Ha-yun (Ansan City Hall) defeated Aida Toishbekova in the women's over-78 kg category with a seoi-nage waza-ari followed by a hold-down waza-ari for an ippon, leaving Korea needing just one more win to reach the final.

However, Kim Min-jong (Yangpyeong-gun Office), competing in the men's heavyweight category, could not close it out, losing to Marat Baikamourov by waza-ari in golden score to tie the overall score at 3-3.

With the match deadlocked, a draw determined that the women's heavyweight bout would serve as the tiebreaker.

Kim Ha-yun stepped back onto the mat for Korea, facing Toishbekova again for Kazakhstan.

The deciding exchange came in golden score. Kim picked up two consecutive penalties, putting her at a disadvantage, and could not recover before receiving a third, ending the match.

Korea will face Uzbekistan later Saturday in the bronze medal bout.


kido@heraldcorp.com